Mistakes

Musicians think a lot about mistakes. As a clarinetist, I think about – at a minimum – playing the correct pitches at the correct time, at the proper dynamic. Beyond this are questions of intonation, articulation, and tone. Even further removed is phrasing and expression.

I find that it’s as much as I can handle to get the performance as error-free and as full of life as possible.

– Robert Shaw

If perfection is the absence of error, it appears to be in conflict with a living expressive performance. Perfection is at odds with expression.

The challenge of orchestral playing

When an orchestra plays together, the result is judged as a whole. The piece springs from the imagination of one composer and is shaped by one conductor. An orchestral performance is greater than 80 solos played together.

If one player makes an error, then that unified sound of the orchestra is flawed. In Mozart for example, which depends on a superficial beauty and refinement – one missed note by one section player is an error for the entire orchestra.

Example

Let’s say you’re an orchestral musician, for example a section violinist, and you can play a Mozart symphony perfectly error-free 99% of the time. That means you can take 100 auditions and in 99 of them you play perfectly.

Now if an orchestra is composed of 60 musicians, there is only a 55% chance of an error-free performance (.99^60). For a top orchestra like the Chicago Symphony, this is unacceptable.

Let’s up the stakes again. If the orchestral musicians can play 99.9% error-free, their collective batting average is 94%. This is much better (but still far from perfect!). Getting from 99% to 99.9% is a combination of training and conservatism. The fact is orchestral musicians cannot take risks because collectively the orchestra will suffer – even if you only miss 1 in every 100 performances!

This line of thinking can explain how community orchestras struggle to play at a high level, even if a community orchestra is composed of fine players.

Taking risks

What makes music exciting is hearing a performer take risks. Usually these are well-calculated risks, say attacking a high note softly, and it pays off.

In this 1957 recording by Maria Callas, you can clearly hear her taking risks – singing at the limit of her ability. The cadenza, where she ascends to a high Eb and descends two octaves in a chromatic scale, is an example of a risk that paid off. A while later, in the ornamentation of the them, you hear an attempted ornament which misses the pitch, a risk which didn’t pay off.

One aspect of Maria Callas that doesn’t get enough attention is her ambitious risks. These were based on a study of the music and opera and which gave Callas a clear musical interpretation. The development and honing of her technique was due to the expression she wanted to give. As a performing artist, taking risks and pushing your limits is how you get better. I think this is the secret of Maria Callas: she wasn’t afraid to make mistakes in pursuit of expression.

I remember once we were at Covent Garden doing Traviata and at the end of "ah, fors'è lui" she would attack this note very softly and she'd crack it every night. I'd go backstage and say "oh Maria attack it a little bit louder, more forte, and then when you have the note you can diminish it and have your effect." This kept going night after night and finally I said, "You are a Greek, no use talking to you." She said, "Nicola, I won't compromise, I'll crack every night but I'm dying and that's the way it's going to be." 

- Nicola Rescigno

 There is a similar story of Callas cracking the first note of Casta Diva in Norma at the Met.

Here is another example. I had a chance to hear Lynn Harrell give a recital at Northwestern. It may have been a Beethoven Cello Sonata, I can’t recall, but there was a pizzicato passage with piano which he wanted to sound forte. Pushing the limits of his instrument, the plucking was too strong and the string slipped off the bridge. What happened next? Mr Harrell and the pianist stopped playing so the string could be put back and he joked to the audience that this happened in rehearsal too (he was aware of the risk). They started the piece again from the top, this time plucking less vigorously and the rest of the piece went off without incident.

The lesson was clear. Every musician’s worst nightmare happened to the Grammy Award-winning Lynn Harrell, he had to stop and restart. He was fine, and so was the audience. If Mr Harrell can make that mistake, then so can I! It wasn't the end of the world.

Conclusion

Take calculated risks. Know your role. If you are in an audition: it needs to be perfect! However, perfection isn’t the goal – expression is. Personally, I don’t worry about making mistakes – after all, if Maria Callas and Lynn Harrell could afford to miss, then so can I.